ASH WEDNESDAY

Christians around the world gathered to begin the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday.

Christians around the world gathered to begin the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday.

In the churches of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Catholics attended Ash Wednesday services where the ashes were sprinkled over the heads as the priest said the following words, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Ash Wednesday is March 2 in 2022, and these Corpus Christi churches will hold services in observance of the holy day.

American bishops oversee a church with declining membership and a sex abuse scandal. Their targeting of Joe Biden is disgraceful.

He went on to say that by the end of July his administration can deliver 600 million doses for Americans. But “it's one thing to have a vaccine available, the problem was how to get to people's arms.”The Pfizer plant Biden toured, near Kalamazoo, produces one of the two federally approved COVID-19 shots. "I would’ve gotten there some way.”AdWhite House adviser Slavitt said the 6 million doses delayed won’t spoil and the vaccine is “safe and sound” under refrigeration. Slavitt said about 1.4 million doses were being shipped Friday as the work of clearing the backlog begins. The Virginia Department of Health reported that it was expecting delays on about 90% of its expected 120,000 doses this week and warned that delays could cascade into next week.

The Archdiocese of San Antonio shared updates ahead of another freezing Wednesday. With temperatures still just below freezing, and suboptimal road conditions, Catholic leaders in San Antonio urged the faithful to check with their parishes and monitor their social media throughout the day and tomorrow morning for information regarding mass times. READ MORE: No ashes - Ash Wednesday will look markedly different this yearWith Ash Wednesday already looking different than in years past — churches were instructed to sprinkle ashes instead of the usual smear due to the coronavirus pandemic — this week's unprecedented weather has leadership pivoting once more. As per the Archdiocese Facebook post, church-goers are being granted a "dispensation from the law of fast and abstinence on Ash Wednesday," meaning parishioners can eat breakfast, given the widespread lack of electricity and water. A San Antonio plumber gives some advicePer church leadership, ashes can be sprinkled after this weekend's services.

SAN ANTONIO – Due to the ongoing winter storm, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller has granted Catholics a dispensation from fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and says ashes will be allowed to be given at the end of masses through the weekend if parishioners don’t receive them Wednesday. Archdiocese officials said that many churches in the area are canceling or reducing the number of services due to the winter storm. The archdiocese said to check in with local leaders and monitor social media for Mass times. Archdiocesan statement regarding Ash Wednesday Lent begins tomorrow, February 17, with Ash Wednesday. You can get the very latest forecast anytime by bookmarking our weather page and downloading the KSAT Weather Authority App - available for both Apple and Android devices.

SAN ANTONIO – The distribution of ashes will be different this Ash Wednesday in San Antonio Archdiocese churches due to COVID-19. Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller is directing all parishes in the archdiocese to follow the new guidelines this year, as per Pope Francis. Sprinkling ashes on the top of people’s heads, rather than marking foreheads with ashes, is the customary practice at the Vatican and in Italy. Due to the pandemic, parishioners are asked to check with their churches for a schedule of services, as it may be different from previous years. Ash Wednesday will be marked on Feb. 17 and is the start of the Lenten season that leads to Easter Sunday.

Ahna Ziegler on UnsplashCOVID-19 has altered life as we know it — and this year, that means area Catholics will mark Ash Wednesday differently. Following a decision from the Vatican about the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, MSPS, is directing all parishes in the archdiocese follow these new guidelines this year.

A prominent Catholic priest called on the faithful to practice social distancing this week, the peak of Lent, in contrast to some other religious leaders who have called for churches to remain open as Easter approaches and the coronavirus spreads. "One of the ways of being kind, in addition to doing good things for your neighbors, is to practice social distancing and stay home and not give other people the disease," James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, told CNBC on Monday morning. Martin has become a leading Catholic voice in the media. He served as an advisor for director Martin Scorsese's "Silence" and appeared in the filmmaker's Netflix-produced film "The Irishman." Not all religious leaders are offering the same advice as Martin.

SAN ANTONIO – The University of Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) Ministry encourages all to take this Lenten season, which began on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, to pray, reflect and to take action. Lent is the six-week period during which Christians prepare for Easter with prayer, abstinence and repentance, like Jesus’ fasting in the desert. They invite you to join them for a daily journey of prayer, reflection and action for personal and communal growth. University Ministry will discuss your comments and reply to your questions every Thursday of Lent on Instagram live at 1 p.m.For questions, you may contact ministry@ollusa.edu. 30 for the annual OLLU service day tradition of vOLLUnteer IMPACT.

During Lent, Catholics are called on to give up something, like sweets. On Wednesday, Pope Francis added a modern twist to the list of things to quit during the season and beyond: insulting people on social media. Lent, he said in partially improvised remarks, "is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumors, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis," he said. In recent years, Pope Francis himself has been the butt of insults from ultra-conservative Catholic websites and mostly anonymous anti-pope Twitter feeds. Later on Wednesday, Pope Francis was due to have ashes rubbed on his forehead at a traditional Ash Wednesday service that reminds Christians of mortality and that everyone will someday become dust.